Device for flattening pieces of meat

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an improved flattening device for flattening pieces of meat so that said pieces of meat have a larger surface and a reduced thickness. The inventive device comprises a conveyor device ( 15, 31 ) on which the pieces of meat to be flattened are supplied to the flattening zone. In the area of the flattening zone mallet rolls or flattening rolls ( 29 ) are provided that can be displaced relative to the piece of meat. The distance between the mallet rolls or flattening rolls ( 29 ) that can be moved across the piece of meat to be flattened and a counter pressure device or surface ( 33 ) can be preferably reduced while the piece of meat is flattened.

[0001] The invention relates to a device for flattening pieces of meataccording to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] It has always been known for pieces of meat to be flattened, inparticular if they are to be processed in schnitzel form. On the onehand, this flattening operation is carried out with the aim ofincreasing the size of the pieces of meat while simultaneously reducingthe thickness.

[0003] In addition, the flattening operation causes the meat to becometender. Connective tissue is known to make meat tough. The flatteningoperation causes the fibrils to be rearranged and the connective tissuebetween the fibrils to tear.

[0004] Devices which, in a manner comparable to the conventionaloperation of beating the meat, are intended to make it possible for thepieces of meat to be flattened, have already been disclosed. Such knowndevices comprise two conveying belts. These conveying belts are arrangedone above the other by way of a gap which decreases more and more froman inlet side to a discharge side. As a result, the pieces of meat arepressed increasingly flat during the transporting operation.

[0005] In this case, the conveying-belt surfaces are supported either byplates or by rollers or by both. There are also flattening devices whichadditionally comprise vibrators.

[0006] There are also processes which press two plates against oneanother only under high pressure.

[0007] The conveying belts have to have comparatively pronounced surfacestructures since, otherwise, they cannot carry along the meat in theconveying direction into the increasingly tapering gap between the twoconveying belts, that is to say in the tapering direction, and otherwisethe meat would slide away counter to the conveying direction withincreasing tapering of the conveying belts.

[0008] It proves to be disadvantageous for such installations, however,that, although the meat is clamped between the two conveying belts, e.g.is pressed with the effect of reducing the thickness, it is not easythus to make it possible to increase the surface area of the piece ofmeat. This is because the meat is pressed in firmly between the twobelts, and builds up pronounced friction in relation to the belts, so asthus to counteract an increase in the surface area of the piece of meat.

[0009] In addition, the belt structure, as has been explained above, isnecessarily usually fairly coarse. Fine belts do not ensure flatteningsuccess with pronounced deformation. In addition, the necessary overalllength of such machines is comparatively large. Finally, thetransporting speed is also comparatively low.

[0010] The object of the present invention is thus, based on the priorart explained, to provide an improved device for flattening foodstuffs,in particular slices of meat, which makes it possible to realize anoptimum increase in size of the piece of meat while simultaneouslyreducing the thickness.

[0011] The object is achieved according to the invention by the featuresspecified in claim 1. Advantageous configurations of the invention arespecified in the subclaims.

[0012] The device according to the invention makes it possible fortender ready-to-cook schnitzels to be produced, for example, reliablyand quickly. According to the invention, it is possible here to realize,in continuous operation, a high degree of meat tenderness and apermanent increase in size of the piece of meat, with the thicknesssimultaneously being evened out, with a low level of additionaloperational outlay. Since the fibrils are not severed, the juice remainsin the meat. As a result the process according to the invention hasconsiderable advantages in relation to known processes for tenderizingby cutting into the portions of the meat (making them into steaks).

[0013] Finally, it is possible to dispense with belts with pronouncedstructures, this ensuring that the surface of the meat is not adverselyaffected by pronounced corrugation.

[0014] This is ensured according to the invention by a rotating drumwhich has circumferentially offset rolling-out rollers or a multiplicityof beating rollers, which are preferably arranged parallel to the axisof rotation of the rotating drum.

[0015] It is possible here for the meat to be guided relatively looselybetween two belts up to a flattening location in the region of therotating drum. A pressure-relief phase, in which the meat can expand,takes place between each of the pressing phases.

[0016] An increase in surface area is also aided and assisted, accordingto the invention, in particular in that in each case two beating orrolling-out rollers which are arranged adjacent to one another in thecircumferential direction on the beating drum are provided withcoordinated surface structures. This is because the eating rollers havea circumferential groove formation, the raised ring crosspieces and thering grooves located therebetween, which are arranged successively inthe axial direction, in one beating roller being offset from those ofthe adjacent beating roller. In other words, the raised ring crosspieceson one beating roller, in respect of the axial length of the latter, arelocated precisely at those locations at which the smaller-diameter ringgrooves are formed on the adjacent beating roller and vice versa. As aresult of the raised locations of the beating rollers thus alternatingwith the lower-level locations thereof, the meat can optimally increasein size both in the longitudinal direction and in the transversedirection and thus become thinner as uniformly as possible.

[0017] A further improvement is achieved in that, at the inlet to theflattening location, it is possible to reduce the inlet angle between acounter-plate and the radius of curvature of the beating drum in thatthe counter-plate, rather than running rectilinearly with the tangentialend oriented toward the radius of the beating drum, is formed with itsabutment surface oriented concavely in relation to the beating drum.This results in kinematics comparable to a planar, i.e. rectilinear andthus tangential abutment plate, although the latter, in order to achievethe same conditions, would require the beating drum to have aconsiderably larger diameter than the present invention, as a result ofwhich the overall size of the installation would be very much greater.

[0018] The invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow withreference to an exemplary embodiment. In the figures, specifically:

[0019]FIG. 1 shows a front view of the continuous-operation flatteningdevice according to the invention with the front doors closed;

[0020]FIG. 2 shows a side view along the arrow A illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 3 shows an illustration corresponding to FIG. 1 with thefront doors open and the top cover open; and

[0022]FIG. 4 shows a schematic side view of two adjacent beating rollerswith the different positions of the grooved formations.

[0023] The flattening device for permanently increasing the size ofpieces of meat while simultaneously reducing the thickness, which willbe explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, is equipped, as a mobileunit, with fixed and castor wheels 1, 3.

[0024] The flattening devices comprises a housing 7, which in theexemplary embodiment shown is provided with two front doors 5, and ahousing covering 9 located at the top.

[0025] As can be seen in particular in the schematic illustrationaccording to FIG. 3, this giving an interior view, the flattening devicecomprises an inlet 11 with a separate circulating inlet belt 13.

[0026] Provided as the central conveying arrangement is a conveying belt15 which is guided in circulation from a deflecting location 17 (whichis formed by a circulating roller which is not represented specificallyin the drawing), in an at least more or less horizontal transportingdirection, to a discharge-side deflecting location 19 and, from there,to a deflecting location 21 located at the bottom and, via the latter,back to the inlet-side deflecting location 17. This results, as seen inthe side view according to FIG. 3, in a conveying section of theconveying belt 15 which may be referred to roughly as being triangular.

[0027] Arranged within this conveying belt 15 is a beating drum 25 whichrotates about an axis of rotation 23 and is arranged via side members27.

[0028] Mounted in a circumferentially offset manner on the beating drum25 are a multiplicity of beating rollers (29 which are also referred insome cases as rolling-out rollers 29), which have a diameter which issmaller than that of the beating drum 25, i.e. a diameter which are lessthan 25%, in particular less than 20% or even about 10%, of the diameterof the beating drum 25, or even less.

[0029] Interacting with the conveying belt 15 is a counter-belt 31,which is arranged so as to circulate between the inlet side 18 and therelease side 20, above the conveying belt 15. In this case, thecounter-belt 31 runs along a counter-plate 33, which is located on topand is a slightly concave configuration in relation to the beating drum25. Via said counter-plate, the counter-belt 31 is guided uptangentially to the beating drum 25 [lacuna] a concave path in relationto the beating drum 25. The counter-plate here is retained and adjustedvia two shafts 35.

[0030] Arranged downstream of the counter-plate 33, as seen in theconveying direction, is a counter-roller 37, which interacts with thebeating rollers 29.

[0031] In the region of the counter-roller 37, the counter-belt hasreached the lowermost point in relation to the beating drum 25 and, fromthere, slopes up again slightly to an outlet-side deflecting roller 39,from where it is guided approximately horizontally to an inlet-sidedeflection roller 41 in order, from there, to run in the direction ofthe counter-plate 33 again. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, theinlet-side deflection roller 41 can be displaced axially by means of acorresponding tensioning and guiding arrangement 43 such that thecounter-belt 31 can always be tensioned appropriately.

[0032] The counter-belt is height-adjustable. The flattening thicknessis set as a result. It is also conceivable, however, for the drum to beadjusted.

[0033] In order for the counter-belt 31 to be easily removed, changedand, if appropriate, also cleaned to better effect, one end side of theoutlet-side deflection roller 39 is supported and secured by a pivotablearresting lever 45.

[0034] As, finally, can also be seen, it is also the case, in theexemplary embodiment shown, that strippers 47 are arranged in an offsetmanner at two locations in the direction of circulation of the conveyingbelt 15, said strippers each interacting with the top side 15′ of theconveying belt 15, on which the pieces of meat are positioned betweenthe inlet side and discharge side. It is thus possible for residues ofmeat to drop freely downward and be passed on to a bottom collectinglocation 51 by an intercepting arrangement 49, which is likewiseapproximately V-shaped in side view.

[0035] The functioning of the flattening device will be discussedhereinbelow.

[0036] The individual pieces of meat which are to be flattened areintroduced onto the inlet belt 13 at a distance apart from one anotherand are advanced in the direction of the conveying belt 15 via the inletbelt 13.

[0037] At the transfer location in the region of the inlet-sidedeflecting location 17, the piece of meat which is to be flattened istransferred to the conveying belt 15.

[0038] During continued forward movement, the counter-belt 31 ispositioned on the corresponding piece of meat from the top side, withthe result that the piece of meat is then moved forward between the topside of the conveying belt 15 and the underside of the counter-belt 31located above.

[0039] In the region of the counter-plate 33, the piece of meat which isto be flattened is then easily moved forward to an increasinglypronounced extent in the direction of the circumference of the beatingdrum 25. During this advancement movement, the piece of meat is made tointeract with the multiplicity of beating rollers 29, which, duringcontinuing rotation of the beating drum 25, act from the underside onthe under-side of the conveying belt 15 and, via the latter, on thepiece of meat which is to be flattened, the piece of meat beingprevented from yielding upward as a result of the counter-plate 33located in this region. The rotary movement of the beating drum 25should take place here with a velocity in the advancement movement ofthe conveying belt or in the opposite direction, counter to theadvancement movement of the conveying belt, but preferably with asufficiently high rotational velocity for the beating rollers 29 not toadvance at the same velocity as the advancement movement of theconveying belt 15. In other words, a plurality of beating rollers 29thus pass over each piece of meat, as a result of which the meat isflattened to an increasingly pronounced extent, and thus reduced inthickness, by the ever smaller gap between the beating rollers andcounter-plate 33 and/or the beating rollers and the counter-roller 37seated at the outlet of the counter-plate 33.

[0040] The desired increase in surface area of the piece of meat here,however, is ensured in that pressing phases and pressure-relief phasesalways alternate during the flattening operation. This is because thebeating rollers 29 produce the short pressing phases as they move acrossthe piece of meat, and, until the next beating roller takes effect, thedistance between two beating rollers 29 results in the desiredpressure-relief phase, in which the forces acting on the piece of meatthen help the piece of meat to be increased in surface area not just inthe advancement direction of the conveying belt, but also transverselythereto.

[0041] This desired increase in surface area is also assisted andenhanced in that the beating rollers 29 are provided with a certainsurface structure, as can be seen from FIG. 4.

[0042] This is because the beating rollers 29 have a multiplicity ofcircumferentially running ring crosspieces 53, a lower-level ring groove55 being formed in each case between two ring crosspieces 53 seatedadjacent to one another in the axial direction of a beating roller 29.An adjacent beating roller 29, then, is equipped such that the ringcrosspieces 53 formed there, as seen in the direction of rotation andcirculation of the beating drum 25, each end up at the locations atwhich the ring grooves of an adjacent beating roller 29 are located andvice versa.

[0043] This construction, ultimately, results in a beating action oflinear, punctiform or surface-area parts of the beating rollers 29 onthe conveying belt and, via the latter, on the meat, this making itpossible for deformation and pressure relief to be alternated quickly.Since, as has been mentioned, the rolling-out rollers 29 are producedalternately with smaller and larger diameters, this also results, offsetin the axial direction of the respective roller 29, in a constantalternation between pressing locations and non-loaded locations.

[0044] By virtue of possibly higher rotational speeds, it isadditionally possible to achieve a pronounced level of deformationenergy even in the case of high transporting speeds.

[0045] The concavely curved counter-plate 33 explained allows the piecesof meat which are to be flattened to be fed virtually tangentially, asdesired, in relation to the circumference of the beating drum 25.Without this concave configuration, it would otherwise be necessary, forfeeding the pieces of meat tangentially to the flattening location, touse a beating drum with a very much larger drum diameter than theexemplary embodiment explained.

[0046] The exemplary embodiment shown has been explained for the casewhere the beating rollers, which are also referred to in some cases asrolling-out rollers 29, are retained in a rotatable manner on a beatingdrum 25. Structures other than the beating drum may also be used,however, as the retaining and guiding bodies. It is conceivable for theabovementioned beating rollers or rolling-out rollers 29 to be retainedsuch that they can be rotated preferably about their own axis, forexample, by means of some other kind of circulating guiding arrangement,for example by the axially outwardly projecting axle journals of thebeating rollers 29 being mounted in a circulating carriage guide.However, the beating rollers 29 otherwise act and function in the sameway. Further modifications are also possible in this respect.

[0047] The exemplary embodiment has been explained for the case wherethe beating rollers 29 are advanced in circulation, on the underside ofthe conveying belt in the flattening zone, in or counter to theconveying-belt direction. It would also be possible, however, for thebeating drum to be oriented differently, i.e. at an angle to theconveying belt. It would even be possible for the axis of rotation ofthe beating drum, that is to say the beating rollers, to be oriented inthe conveying-belt direction, and thus for the beating rollers tointeract, on the underside of the conveying belt in the flattening zone,with the pieces of meat moving across the same, in the directiontransverse to the conveying direction of the conveying belt.

1. A flattening device for flattening pieces of meat so that the surfacearea of the pieces of meat is increased while the thickness issimultaneously reduced, characterized by the following features there isprovided a conveying arrangement (15, 31), via which the pieces of meatwhich have to be flattened can be sent to a flattening zone, beatingrollers or rolling-out rollers (29) which can be displaced relative tothe piece of meat are provided in the region of the flattening zone, andthe distance between the beating rollers or rolling-out rollers (29),which can be moved across the piece of meat which is to be flattened,and a counterpressure arrangement or surface (33) can preferably bereduced during the operation of flattening the piece of meat.
 2. Theflattening device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that there areprovided a plurality of beating rollers or rolling-out rollers (29)which can be displaced, along a guide body or a guide path in theflattening zone, across the piece of meat which is to be flattened. 3.The flattening device as claimed in claims 1 or 2, characterized in thatthe beating rollers (29) are anchored so as to be offset in thecircumferential direction on a beating drum (25) rotating about an axisof rotation (23).
 4. The flattening device as claimed in one of claims 1to 3, characterized in that the beating rollers (29) are suspended suchthat they can be rotated about their axis.
 5. The flattening device asclaimed in one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the beatingrollers (29) are not driven.
 6. The flattening device as claimed in oneof claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, in the flattening zone, thebeating rollers (29) can be rolled across the underside of the conveyingbelt (15) along which the pieces of meat which are to be flattened canbe moved.
 7. The flattening device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6,characterized in that the conveying arrangement for a piece of meatwhich is to be flattened comprises a conveying belt (15) and acounter-belt (31) which is spaced apart therefrom, the piece of meatwhich is to be flattened being advanced in a sandwich-like mannerbetween said belt.
 8. The flattening device as claimed in one of claims1 to 7, characterized in that the conveying belt (15) is advanced in acirculating manner on a circulatory path from an inlet side (11), via adischarge side (20), to an inlet side (11), the conveying arrangementfor the advancing beating rollers (29) being arranged within thecirculating path.
 9. The flattening device as claimed in one of claims 1to 8, characterized in that the counter-belt (31), which interacts withthe conveying belt (15), interacts, in the region of the flatteningzone, with a counter-plate (33) which is arranged on the rear side,opposite to the conveying belt (15).
 10. The flattening device asclaimed in claim 9, characterized in that the counter-plate (33) is ofslightly concave configuration in relation to the beating rollers (29).11. The flattening device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 10,characterized in that the inlet angle between the conveying belt (15)and counter-belt (31) is predetermined by the difference of the radii ofcurvature between the concave configuration of the counter-plate (33)and the radius of the beating drum (25).
 12. The flattening device asclaimed in one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that respectivelyadjacent beating rollers (29) are designed with different surfacestructures.
 13. The flattening device as claimed in one of claims 1 to12, characterized in that the beating rollers (29) are provided withcircumferential crosspieces (53, 55), smaller-diameter circumferentialgrooves (55) being arranged in each case between two adjacentcircumferential crosspieces (53).
 14. The flattening device as claimedin claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the circumferential crosspieces(53) and the circumferential grooves (55) on two adjacent beatingrollers (29) are offset in relation to one another such that in eachcase one circumferential crosspiece (53) on one beating roller (29) endsup located in the region of the circumferential groove on the adjacentbeating roller (29) and vice versa.
 15. The flattening device as claimedin one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the beating drum (25) isprovided with a height-adjusting arrangement.
 16. The flattening deviceas claimed in one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that at least one,but preferably more than one, stripper (47) is provided, the latterinteracting with the top side of the conveying belt (15).
 17. Theflattening device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 16, characterized inthat the axis of rotation (23) of the beating drum (15) is orientedtransversely to the conveying direction of the conveying belt (15). 18.The flattening device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 17, characterizedin that the axis of rotation (23) of the beating drum (15) is orientedparallel to the transporting plane of the conveying belt (15).
 19. Theflattening device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 18, characterized inthat the beating rollers or rolling-out rollers (29) are arrangedparallel to the plane of the conveying belt (15) and/or of the axis ofrotation (23) of the beating drum (25).
 20. The flattening device asclaimed in one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the beatingrollers (29), in deviation from the conveying direction of the conveyingbelt (15), move across the underside of the conveying belt, preferablytransversely thereto.